Raleigh, N.C. — Good morning and welcome to Today @NCCapitol for Friday, May 30. We'll get to the scheduled state Senate budget debate in a moment. But first, two major bills have cleared the legislature this week.

THE BUDGET: Speaking of the fast track, the state Senate is on pace to put a $21 billion spending measure in the hands of House budget writers before sunrise Saturday, less than 60 hours after making the initial draft of the plan available to the public on Wednesday night.

However, at least one Republican is not a fan of the measure produced by the GOP Senate majority.

"We have a major difference with the Senate, and we hope to resolve those differences during the next several weeks," McCrory told reporters when asked about the senators' plans to raise teacher salaries. That plan would offer an 11 percent average pay increase for teachers but pays for the changes by cutting other areas of education funding, including slashing the money for teaching assistants in early grades by half.

"I think we need a more comprehensive approach – long-term sustainable and fiscally responsible approach – on how we are going to pay our teachers in the future so it’s a career as opposed to a one-time pay increase," McCrory said.

This criticism provoked a response from Sen. Tom Apodaca, R-Henderson.

"I hear the governor didn't like our budget," he said. "Well, we didn't like his."

Apodaca said the Senate budget is more generous than McCrory's plan to raise teacher salaries.

"I like our plan better than his. It does more for teachers, and I think it protects education overall, including the community colleges and universities," he said. "My wife taught third grade for 18 years. I can assure you, she would be taking the pay raise happily."

TONIGHT'S TIME LINE: The Senate session convenes at 4 p.m. At some point before midnight, Senators will vote to approve the budget bill. Then, because a vote will be needed on a separate day, the Senate will vote again on its spending plan at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

STEP TWO OF FOUR: As much attention as the Senate budget drew to itself, it is only the second step of a four-step process. Now that the governor and senators have offered their spending plans, the state House will craft its own budget. Then those three documents will be reconciled into one budget bill that goes to the governor. The question regarding many of the high-profile – and controversial – Senate provisions is how many of them will actually make it into that final bill.

HOUSE: The state House has finished work for the week and will meet for a skeleton session at 4 p.m. Monday.

According to Rep. Nelson Dollar, R-Wake, the senior budget chairman, House budget writers will meet in subcommittees all next week. If all goes as planned, he said, the House would hold full Appropriations Committee hearings and floor votes the week of June 8.

FROM THE WIRE: The Associated Press reports on a number of Senate budget provisions getting attention, including:

"PRISON CHANGES: Continuing a recent trend, the state would close minimum-security women's prisons in Nash and Davie counties, with about 675 beds, while converting a men's prison in Greene County with 430 beds to a women's prison. The changes come as the number of state prisoners keeps declining and more people convicted of misdemeanors are serving their time in county jails through a financial agreement with local sheriff departments. Currently, people convicted of misdemeanors serving sentences of three to six months are serving the time in county jails. The budget would move misdemeanants with longer sentences to jails."

THE GOVERNOR: McCrory will be in Charlotte Friday. He will speak at the Providence Day School commencement at 9:30 a.m. and, along with first lady Ann McCrory and Moe the dog, attend a "Great Dogs of Charlotte" photo shoot.

As for the Senate budget, it wasn't just the education provisions McCrory took issue with Thursday:

“Well, let me first say we’re still reviewing the budget that was just presented by the Senate," McCrory told reporters according to an interview transcript released by his office. "But a short, just a short-term review, we have some very serious concerns about the budget that was submitted by the Senate regarding the impact on our operations and Department of Transportation and environmental protection, Commerce Department, in Health and Human Services and in education. It’s my job as governor to protect the efficient and effective operations of state government and good customer service, and I think the budget submitted by the Senate causes us some great concerns in that area, and we will be giving more details on what our concerns are.”

NOTED: "Schools in the University of North Carolina system are now apparently offering in-state tuition rates to the same-sex spouses of military personnel, provided the couple got married in a state that recognizes same-sex marriage," reports the Fayetteville Observer.

funnythingMay 31, 2014

Benjamin WrightMay 31, 2014

We should build a statue to honor Tillis and McCrory for the great work they have done to move North Carolina ahead of states like Mississippi.

teleman60May 30, 2014

View quoted thread

Out of all the proposals they've put in the budget, dissolving (not merging) a public university is by far the worst and most short-sighted. ECSU is an economic boon to one of the poorest areas of the state; delivering a nearly 4 to 1 return on it's meager appropriations. It is one of that area's third largest employers, and the party focused on bringing jobs to NC wants to shutter it, by some arbitrary policy they just came up with?

For the first time in my life, I'll be writing the governor and my representatives in the House. This senate has gone too far.

— Posted by issymayake

You obviously ACTUALLY VOTED FOR THESE fools. I wish you were more cognizant of facts BEFORE YOU VOTED!!

I am totally freaked out by the LACK OF NORMAL GOP VOICES expounding here today. Their guys have set into law actions that have undermined the property rights of EVERY NORTH CAROLINIAN!

The sane among us can only hope it was worth it to discover just how duped you all were.

teleman60May 30, 2014

The whole truth is - republicans ARE DETERMINED to destroy the government and THEN SAY LOOK IT DON'T WORK and then shift more tax dollars to private industry!

It's a giant conspiracy BUT IT'S THEM actually breaking everything ON PURPOSE!

You can't cut taxes and continue to run an entity that was functioning ON LESS!

The morality and/or ignorance of those who voted for and continue to support the current NC GA is seriously in question.

cruzinlongMay 30, 2014

View quoted thread

The house and senate are obviously pushing Fracking through, but how long to you think it will be before you see Vietnam Era Vet Joe Farmer standing at the road with a gun daring natural gas to cross his property line? I'm just saying, house bill 786 is just paper voted on by a bunch of old men, this doesn't mean NC Citizens are going to allow an industry to drill on their property. Also, immanent domain hardly seems legal to enforce on behalf a private company.

— Posted by ospreysilver

You gotta be kidding me, or shall I say yourself ?NC citizens in the fracking areas can be forced pooled. ( google it ) Also, those that only own their surface rights and not their mineral rights stand to get really shammed here . ( it's called split estate )If someone else owns the mineral rights below surface rights owners then the gas drilling companies can come onto surface rights only land and perform HEAVY INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY within 650 feet of surface right owners homes and practically all over their property , surface rights owners don't even get the chance to " allow permission" for them to come on their land. Eminent domain is alive and well in NC by private companies also, do a search for it , NCLEG eminent domain and read section 40A-3.

delmathMay 30, 2014

No surprise here. They said from the beginning they were going to keep it short and sweet so all the Republicans could focus on TT and his quest for infamy.

ospreysilverMay 30, 2014

The house and senate are obviously pushing Fracking through, but how long to you think it will be before you see Vietnam Era Vet Joe Farmer standing at the road with a gun daring natural gas to cross his property line? I'm just saying, house bill 786 is just paper voted on by a bunch of old men, this doesn't mean NC Citizens are going to allow an industry to drill on their property. Also, immanent domain hardly seems legal to enforce on behalf a private company.

hardycitrusMay 30, 2014

North Carolina has shallow gas deposits and shallow water wells. Water contamination is going to devastate rural communities.

Betty LanierMay 30, 2014

View quoted thread

And isn't most of that debt caused by the Bush era tax cuts and the two unfunded wars that someone wanted to fight?

— Posted by OleNCNative

you are correct. The Obama administration also brought the cost of the two wars into the federal budget where as durning the Bush Administration, the wars costs were not included in the budget, but paid for via emergency spending billings.